1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates generally to toothbrushes, and more particularly to a toothbrush having special convenience for travelers, in that it provides conveniently accessible unit packaging of dentifrice, and is inexpensive enough to be regarded as disposable.
2. Description Of The Prior Art
The prior art of which I am aware comprises ordinary toothbrushes, and units disclosed in United States patents discovered in a search as follows: U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,443,425, issued to Iverson on June 15, 1948; 3,593,725, issued to Ortega on July 20, 1971; 3,952,867, issued to McCord on Apr. 27, 1976; 3,991,776, issued to Duffy on Nov. 16, 1976; 4,198,171, issued to Lampka et al. on Apr. 15, 1980; and 4,275,750, issued to Clark on June 30, 1981. These patents disclose a variety of ways of storing dentifrice, and some of them show individual tubes, vials, or packages. The one most nearly related to my invention is the Ortega patent which shows, in FIGS. 5 and 6, three individual dentifrice containers 30 in the handle. The user must remove a plug or cap 31 from the end of the handle to get access to the dentifrice containers. The containers 30 are loose inside the handle so that when the cap is removed, they can slide out. Accordingly, when one or two of the containers have been removed, the remaining container or containers are free to slide within the handle.
It is desirable to provide a toothbrush which is producible at a minimal cost and wherein the dentifrice is readily accessible, although containerized. The present invention is addressed to this need.